Armored pneumatic tire.



UNITED .sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. WILLIAMS, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR OF SlIXTY-TWOONE- HUNDREDTHS T JAMES T. ANDREW, OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

T o all, whom fit may concern:

Be it known that LCirAiimis F. WILLIAMS, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Atlantzu in the county of Fulton and State ot' Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Armored Pneumatic Tires; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the 4art to which it appertaiiis to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in armored pneumatic tires, and especially to i that class in which a plurality of separate chambers are provided.

One of the objects of the invention is to produce a multiple chamber pneumatic tire in which the chambers are formed by bulbs inflatable separately or conjointly, and in which the bulbs are held spaced apart. and are protected against puiicture'by suitable armor arranged internally of the covering.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details shown and described, still for the purpose of disclosure reference is had to the accompanying drawings illustrating a practical embodiment of the invention, and the. particular features of novelty will be more l particularly pointed out in the claims.

-In thel drawings forming a part of this application like numerals designate the same parts in the several views, of which,

Figure l is a fragmentary view of iny improved tire as applied to a wheel riin, said view being partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged Scale, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line SW3 of Fig. 1. F ig. 4 is a local view illustrating the ball and socket arrangement between the bulb guard andcasing, and Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View of an inflated bulb.

l designates a wheel of ordinary construction, in the drawings illustrated as having the Wooden felly Quand the metallic riin` 3 of cup shape construction to receive the enlarged heels 4- and 5 of. the tirecasng. This casing is of the usual construction, the

body portion '6 consisting of layers of rub.

ber, canvas, or other material, 'andthe tread portion may be provided W1th the usual form of roughenedstread or'may be pro Specification of Letters Patenut. Patented Aug, 22, 1911. y Application lled November 24, 1909, Serial No. 529,806. Renewed January 19, 1911. Serial No. 603,594.

in opposed positions, forming ebambershav-- ing the open necks 10 therebetween, such` chambers being adapted to receive the intlatable bulbs hereinafter'referred to. The contour ofy the lateral faces of the shoulders 9 is preferably curved when the form of bulbs is of oval shape, as illustrated, and the contour of the shoulders 8 is of curvedI construction, as shown, to snugly receive a metallic member hereinafter referred to.

11 designates a thin rubber bladder inl cased within a coveiing-l2, which may -be of heavier rubber or of other suitable flexible material, and this bladder is connected with the usual inflation nipple 13, provided with a valve 14 located a substantial distance from the inner end ot the nipple to permit of the connection of another valve hereinafter referred to. This covering 12,

asshown in Fig. 5, is provided with a slit y sary to repair or otherwise replace the same.

AA plurality of these inflatable bulbs are disposed around tlie interior of the tire in the chambers heretofore mentioned, and when intiated the adjacent ends of the bulbs are separated a substantial distance by the open necks l0, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, the lower ends of the bulbs resting iii the curved faces of the shoulders 9, and the upper ends being ,spaced apart from the shoulders 8. The outwardly disposed portion of the bulb is protected by a shield of rigid metal 1G,the shield being secuielyheld to the casing of the tire by means of central rivets 17. This shield is made of non-flexible metal, and is in the shapeof a concave cap or cup-shape disk extending approximately half the depth of the bulbs, leaving an open space 18 between the inside of the tire casing and vthe outside of the bulb casineP at a position viniiri'ediately below the shields.

Exteriorly of the cup-shape shields, and at the end thereof are disposed the' socket plates 19, forming .a seat for the revtuble balls l20,

lfi o the inner faceof a. second shield 8 of ccn- .shoulder 8.

Vex contour snugly tittin the projection or Each of the inflation nipples 13 are vprovided with a second@ valve 22, es: tending, laterally thereof and disposed be ,tweenthewalve 14 and the inner end nl the nipple, these latter valves 22 communicating .with an ,inflation tube 23, extending entirely varound the.tire, and which may be inflated by 'a further inflation Valve 24.

Thus it will be seen in .operation that l provide a tire which has 'all of the resiliencyT of a single tube tire, but which is practically puncture proof. It will alsov be noted that owing to the ball and socket Acontact that portion of the tread lying between the in- Hated bulbs is capable of being .flexed evenly, so i amenabled to leave the space 10 between the bulbs and also provide for an equalization of pressure upon the bulbs. It vwill also be observed that in the event of a puncture, which is practically impossible, only one portion of the tire would. be atfected, and the injured bulb could be readily replaced'later on by deflating the several bulbs and removing the tire, whereupon` a new bulb could be inserted from the inside of the deflated tire. It will'also be noted that the bulbs may be Vinflated independently, or they can be inilated conjointly, by means ofthe tube 23 connected to the valves 22 communicating with all. of the nipples between the valve le and the inner end of the nipples.

Having thus described the invention, what l claim is l.. A pneumatic tire comprising a casing, a-plurality of inflatable bulbs located in said casing, means for inflating said bulbs, Yprotecting shields disposed between saidjbulbs andthe tread of said casing, said shields :bef ing spaced apart` circumferentially of said casing, a second set of shields carried by the inside Jface of the tread portion of-said, casvgroup of shields, substantially as described.

.substantially as described.

ing and alternating with said A protecting shields, and rolling contacts between each 2. A pneumatic tire comprising a casimg,v a plurality of cup-shaped shields. carried by the inner face of the periphery of said cas-v ing and having- .their concave faces disposed inwardly, saidcup -shaped shields being spaced apart circumferentially vof the tire, a second set of shields carried by the insidev face 'of .the tread portion and alternating with said cup-shaped shields, saidsecondl set of shields projecting inwardly between the spaces formed by said separated shields, rolling contacts between each groupv of shields, inflatable bulbs partly incased by.. said cup-shaped shields, and means for in-V y flat-ing said bulbs, substantially as described.l

3. A pneumatic tire comprising a casing, a plurality of cup-shaped shields carried 'onthe inside face of the. tread portion of said casing and spaced apart 'peripherally, a secf ond set of shields carriedby the inside-tread portion of the tire and disposed in aline-` shaped shields, a ball and socket Contact between said shields, and the inflatable bulbs` partially incased by said cup-shaped shields, A

e. .el pneumatic tire comprising a casing having' internal. opposed shouldersfformed on the inside of the -tread portion andthe rim portion. of thetire, said shoul-.lers forming communicating chambers separatedby a .restricted or neck opening, a metallic shield for yeach ot' said shoulders on the treadporf. tion, a plurality of cup-shaped shieldsse cured "to the inside of the tread portion and'l alternating with said first mentioned shields, rolling` contacts between each setroit` shields, inflatable bulbs disposed within the chambers formed by said shoulders and partially incased by said rcup-shaped shields, and means Jfor inlating said bulbs, substantially asv ('lescribedl I ,In testimony whereof, l aiiix `my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

. CHARLES F. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses BIAS C. BUTLER, B. C. SCHADE.v

"15 nient with the interstices between the cup` f- 

